Road To A Stranger
by Dawnie-7
Summary: Mort finds out he has daughter and decides to go see her.But what happenes when he acquires a....tour guide....so to speak, along the way?
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I just want to apologize now if this sucks. The idea came to me when I was half asleep and it's gonna bug me until I post it. So if you don't like it and you decide to send me a flame (how rude!) please be gentle.  
  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Mort Rainey (pity) nor do I own any other _'Secret Window'_ references. They belong to Stephen King and David Koepp.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
**Prologue**  
  
Mort Rainey couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. But the proof was right there in front of him. A birth certificate, along with a signed letter, were currently sitting on his kitchen table telling him the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the damn right impossible! Apparently, Morton Rainey..........was a father.  
  
Yeah, imagine his surprise.  
  
But how could this be? As far as he knew, he had always been faithful to Amy, unlike her! But no, he was over that now. It was all apart of the past. So who on earth could he have gotten pregnant?  
  
Oh wait, there was that one drunken night back in college, with that girl, what was her name.......Susan? Yeah, that was it. Well then, that certainly puts a whole new spin on things.  
  
So he was a father eh? That's interesting. Well, there was only one thing he could do...... he had to go and meet her. This girl, Maggie Hall the letter and birth certificate said, was his daughter. And even though he knew nothing about her, he felt he had known her all her life. And maybe, just maybe, this could be exactly what he needed. Ever since the......_incident_......a few months back, he had been quite lonely. Maybe Maggie would be his savor, so to speak.  
  
That's it then, he was going. He was going and there wasn't a single thing that could get in his way. 


	2. The Deal

**A/N:** Just so you guys know, this might be slow in the updating factor. You see, I know exactly what I want the ending to be (except for a few things that need to be tweaked ) but as always, it's a matter of getting there. So please bear with me. Mort Rainey plushies, complete with the black beanie hat thing he wears, if you do.  
  
**A/N2:** Just a little side note, anything in _italics_ are Mort's thoughts, and anything in **bold** is Mort's other side. Not Shooter, just his reasonable side.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Word of advice, never listen to the traffic reports on the news. _'Oh, highway 4 will be clear and it will be smooth sailing.'_ said the oh so chipper traffic man. Ha! What a bunch of bull. The freeway was jammed packed with cars. Where they're all going is and will forever be an unsolved mystery.  
  
And what's worse, Mort was having a tad bit of car trouble. Well, that's putting it lightly. In all actuality, his car had completely broken down and he was now stranded on the side of the highway.  
  
**Looks like you got a bit of a problem there pilgrim.**  
  
_You don't say? And don't say 'pilgrim', I don't want any reminders of, that._  
  
**Fair enough. But you still have to think about your current situation. How do plan to solve this little problem?**  
  
_Why don't you tell me, oh fountain of knowledge._  
  
**It's not my place to say.**  
  
_Oh, so you can criticize my every thought, but you can't help me come up with a good one?_  
  
**That's right.  
**  
_Thanks, you're a big help._  
  
**You're welcome. Now, what are you going to do?  
**  
_Hmmmmm....... how about I walk to the nearest town, and, borrow, a car?_  
  
**Borrow?**  
  
_Yes._  
  
**You mean steal.  
**  
_Tomato/Tomato.  
_  
**Don't you think that's a bit, oh I don't know, rash?**  
  
_Rash times call for rash actions. In case you've forgotten, I've got a daughter to see.  
_  
**Hey, if you think you can really pull it off, go for it.  
**  
_Gee, does that mean I have your blessings?_  
  
**Sure, why not.  
**  
And those are the events that led Mort to where he is now, walking down the highway. He was just outside of New York when his car broke down, and he needed to get to Virginia. And according to the sign he just past, he still had another eight miles to the next town. Boy how he wished he had worn a more comfortable pair of pants instead of jeans.  
  
-----------------------------------------

Three and a half hours later and Mort finally reached the town. He legs felt like they were ready to fall off, so he was very grateful when he came across a bus stop. He sat down with a huge sigh.  
  
**Long walk?**  
  
_Shut up.  
_  
As he was taking his much needed rest, he began to survey his surroundings. He appeared to be in the downtown area of whatever city he was in, he didn't pay attention. He decided he would go for a car in the parking lot with the most people. The more people, the less noticeable he would be. He finally came across the local grocery store and dubbed it the perfect place. With a deep breath, he got up and headed over. As he entered the parking lot he quickly took notice of a red 88' 4x4 Ford pick-up truck. His mind made up, he made a b-line for it. Checking around him to make sure no one was watching, Mort tried the door and was extremely surprised to find that the door was unlocked.  
  
'This is too easy.' he thought to himself with a smug grin as he hopped in.  
  
Not so surprise was he though when he found that there were no keys. Of course not.  
  
"Damn." he muttered. That's when he, subtly of course so no one would get suspicious, began the task of hot wiring the car.  
  
Unfortunately, with all his concentration on the job at hand, Mort did not take notice of the young lady coming towards him with a bag of groceries and a very amused look on her face.  
  
"Hi!" she said cheerfully while knocking on the window.  
  
"Fuck!" Mort cursed loudly. That girl had scared the living daylights out of him! He turned his head to the girl still standing there with a smile on her face. Knowing that she wasn't going away, he hesitantly rolled down the window. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Hi." She repeated.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Nice car you got here."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"You look like you're getting ready for a long drive, am I right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Ah, where ya headed?"  
  
"Out of town." Mort replied, his patience running dangerously low.  
  
"Neato. What for?" she asked, that same sickening sweet smile still plastered on her face.  
  
"Listen lady!" he finally snapped. "I'm a little busy here, so with all do respect, if you could just.....fuck off! That would be great."  
  
"Well now, that's the problem. You see I would, I would love to in fact, but this just so happens to be my car you're in. So, if you could just get out, _that_ would be great." she said, standing by the door expectantly.  
  
**Got any other brilliant ideas?**  
  
_Shut up._  
  
Noticing that he didn't appear to be making any plans to movie, the girl decided to try another approach.  
  
"No? Okay.......tell you what." she started, now leaning against the car door. "I'm in a pretty good mood today, so how about I drive you to the bus station, and then you can give me back my car."  
  
"No." he said stubbornley.  
  
**That's an awfully bold answer, considering this isn't your car!**  
  
_I thought I told you to shut up!_  
  
"Oh." she said, a bit taken aback. "Umm, okay. Well, how about this, I'll get into the passenger seat over there, you drive to the bus station, or the train station, whichever tickles your fancy, and then when we get there you give me back my car."  
  
Mort appeared to be in deep thought for a moment, then replied with a shake of the head.  
  
"You know, you're being a bit pig headed considering this isn't your car." she pointed out.  
  
"So I've been told." he muttered under his breath.  
  
The girl was silent for a minute, then spoke up again. "Alright, well this is it, my finally offer. You scoot over to the passenger side, I'll drive you wherever you want to go, pay for gas, food, boarding, if needed, and to put the cherry on the cake, you can be sure I won't call the police and report you for attempted robbery because I have no cell phone." at this she made a gesture to show she had no pockets or any kind of bag.   
  
Mort looked at the girl like she had grown a second head. Was he actually hearing her right?  
  
"You're crazy you know that?"  
  
"So I been told." she replied, back to smiling.   
  
"I just tried to steal your car lady, for all you know I could be some ax murderer, why do you want to help me?" he asked, completely baffled by this girl's actions..  
  
"Well, to be perfectly honest, I got nothing better to do. Plus, I'm a little on the naive side." she joked. "So, what do you say, we got a deal.?"  
  
He wasn't sure why, but for some odd reason, he felt he could trust her. With a feeling he might regret this, he decided to go along with it.  
  
"Alright, deal." he said.  
  
"Great!" she exclaimed, shaking his hand.  
  
Mort scooted over to the passenger seat so the girl could get in. As soon as she got her seat belt on, she turned on the car, pulled out, and got onto the road. Once she got to a stop sign, she turned to him to introduce herself.  
  
"My names Lucy by the way. Lucy McAdams."  
  
"Mort Rainey."  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Likewise."


	3. A Detour & Perverted Ducks

**A/N:** Just a quick thanks to all of my reviewers, you guys rock!  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
The two had been on the road for about ten minutes now, and oddly enough were sitting in a comfortable silence. Mort took this time as an opportunity to really look at this girl. He turned his head slightly, so as not to freak her out by staring.  
  
She appeared to be in her early - middle twenties, about twenty five or so was his guess. She had dark brown hair that seemed would probably come to just below her shoulder blades piled messily on top of her head with a few random strands falling in her face. From his view, she looked to have dark brown eyes, but he wasn't able to tell if they were dark brown or black. She was wearing a long baby pink skirt that she had pulled up to her knees for better leg mobility to drive the car, a white tank top that, he had to admit, fit her quite nicely, and to top off the outfit, a pair of white flip flops. All in all, he definitely liked what he was seeing.  
  
**Smitten already are we?  
**  
_No!  
_  
**Could have fooled me.  
**  
_I was just curious, from a writer's stand point.  
_  
**Oh, of course.**  
  
"So where are we headed?" her voice brought Mort out of the inner battle with himself.  
  
"Oh, um, Virginia." he replied, trying to regain himself.  
  
"Virginia?! Well, that's certainly out of town." she said, a little shocked by this new bit of information.  
  
"Yeah, I guess it is. That's umm...not a problem, is it?" Mort asked timidly, scared she was going to kick him out of the truck.  
  
"Ummm....no, no. Just a little.....farther than I had expected. But that's okay, no worries. We're just gonna have to make a quick little detour."  
  
"Ok." he said with audioable relief in his voice.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
Another five minutes past and now they were in front of an apartment building that looked like it had been standing there for ages. Lucy parked the car and got out, but then hopped back in again when she notice for the second time that day, that Mort didn't appear to be making any attempts to move.  
  
"Are you coming?" she asked him.  
  
"Why?" he asked nervously.  
  
"Well, if we're going to Virginia, that means we're going to be on the road for a couple of days, so I was gonna grab a few change of cloths and I thought you might want something to drink or something. So, are you coming up." she reasoned with him.  
  
**You have a beautiful girl asking you up to her apartment, and yet you look like a deer caught in head lights. You're a very odd man Mort Rainey. The girl is offering you something, now be a good little boy and accept.**  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Alright, follow me."  
  
And he did. Up four flights of stairs, down the hall, to the left, and down six doors to be exact.  
  
"Sorry about the long walk." Lucy apologized as she was opening the door. "Well, welcome. Sorry about the mess. I don't usually get company so I don't clean to impress much. But if you just stay to the right side of the room you'll see there's a clean path to follow." she explained, going towards the kitchen area and putting her bag of groceries away. "I'm just gonna go pack a few things, should only take me a couple of minutes. There's soda in the frig and snacks in the cabinet, so make yourself at home." and with that, she disappeared into the bedroom.  
  
Mort took note that besides from the mess, it was a pretty nice looking place, much better inside than outside. He pushed some cloths aside on the couch and blushed when he found that it was a pile of undergarments. Quickly discarding them he took a seat. He took another glance around the place and noticed that the entire place was bare of any pictures, except for a pile of pictures scattered on the coffee table with parts cut out. Curiosity getting the better of him, he picked up a few and studied them. They all seemed to be of her and some guy, the same guy in all of them he assumed but it was hard to tell because in every single one, said guy's head was cut out.  
  
_Ex boyfriend maybe?  
_  
"Hey Mort!" Lucky suddenly yelled from the bedroom. "Could you come here for a minute please."  
  
Putting the pictures back on the table, Mort got up and followed the clear trail to the bedroom that Lucy had pointed out earlier. He got there to find she was rummaging through the closet.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Here, try these on." she said, handing him a pile of cloths.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, you're gonna need some cloths too buddy." she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
His mouth formed an 'o' shape, realizing it probably was the most obvious thing. Quickly trying on the cloths, he gave them back to her, letting her know that they fit, and then watched her throw them in the duffle back she was packing.  
  
"They were my ex's, but he won't be needing them anymore." she told him, sounding unusually chipper to him, but he decided to just ignore it. "Lets see, that's cloths, money.." she mumbled to herself, making a mental check list. "Alright, well that should do it. Are you ready to go?" she asked looking up at him.  
  
"Ready Freddy." he replied, then immediately kicked himself in the ass.  
  
**Now where did that come from.  
**  
_I have no idea._  
  
Mort shifted his eyes from her, afraid she was going to think him a complete nutcase now.  
  
"That's the spirit!" she said with another big smile. This time Mort returned it, really starting to like this girl's 'happy go lucky' attitude.  
  
The two ventured back out into the living room and were almost at the door, when the phone suddenly rang. They both turned their heads to it and gawked at it, as if they had never heard a phone ring in their lives. It was Lucy who finally spoke up on the third ring.  
  
"Just ignore it, I'm sure it's nobody important." she said, and continued to the front door, with Mort right behind her.   
  
They had just reached the door and opened it when the answer machine kicked on. Once again, the pair stopped and listened to see who it was.  
  
"Hi honey, it's mommy. Are you home, I sure hope you are because this is very, VERY important." rang a very high, antsy kind of voice.  
  
Lucy dropped her head and let out a strangled grown. Apparently, she wasn't in the mood to talk to her mother. She then raised her head to look at Mort and sighed.  
  
"This will only take a minute I swear." she said walking towards the phone and picking up the receiver. "Hi mom." she answered with false happiness. Luckily, her mother couldn't tell the difference. "Yeah, it's nice to talk to you too.........mmmhmm, so what's so important that you had to tell me..............mmhhhmmm............mmhmmm............mmmhhhmmmm" she made a gesture as if she were strangling to phone, which got a chuckle out of Mort. " mmmhmmmm, yeah, " here she sighed again. "No mom, I don't think the ducks were undressing you with their eyes." it took everything Mort had to keep quite at that one. "Because mom, I don't think ducks are the type to go for inter-specie relationships...........no I don't think you need to file for a restraining order..........right, listen mom, I really gotta get going. I'm gonna be out of town for a few days but I'll call you when I get home ok? Ok......love you too, bye." she finally hung up and stood up again.  
  
"Sorry about that, my moms' a little......." she made another hand gesture to show Mort that her mom wasn't playing with a full deck of cards.  
  
"No problem." he said, with a small smile.  
  
"Well then, shall we?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
And with that, they were finally back on the road.  
  
**A/N:** Don't ask where the whole duck thing came from, just sounded amusing to me. Review and tell me what you think, and of course, if you have any ideas or suggestions, don't hesitate to send them in. 


	4. Contacts, What A Miserable Product

**A/N:** Just a little heads up, I have no idea how long it would take to get from New York to Virginia, but for the sake of this story, I'm just going to say about a week - a week and a half. If you don't think that sounds right, please let me know in a review. Oh and by the way, yes Lucy is a little.....shall we say, out there, but I can't help it, it's fun to write, and she's starting to become loosely based on me which just drives me to make her even more eccentric. So just so you know, there will be a lot of randomness in the duration of this story.  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
After leaving the apartment, our two traveling buddies threw the duffle bag in the back seat and hopped in. After buckling up (safety first all) they got back on the road and headed towards their destination. Virginia. Home to the Virginia ham.(that's from the movie The American President) And also home to a very special person. Mort's daughter. He was already filled with nerves and anxiety about meeting her. What would she think about him? What if she heard about the rumors? Would she want anything to do with him?  
  
**Think about it. If she knew about the rumors, and didn't want anything to do with you, why would she have contacted you?**  
  
_..........Good point._  
  
**Of course it is.**  
  
_I just don't want to get there and be a disappointment to her._  
  
**Relax. If you keep this up throughout the entire trip, you'll drive yourself crazy.**  
  
_Right. Relax._  
  
"So, what are we heading to Virginia for?" Lucy finally asked, bringing Mort out of his thoughts.  
  
"My daughter. I have a daughter there waiting for me. I've.... I've never met her before." Mort explained.  
  
"Ohhhhh, that's great.!" she exclaimed, very happy that her new found....friend....was going to be having a family reunion.  
  
"Yeah. I'm a little nervous though." he confessed.  
  
"I bet. But don't worry, we'll have you in tip top shape by the time we get there. I promise you, you'll be ready." Lucy assured him. "Do you mind?" she asked, pointing to the radio.  
  
"No, go ahead."   
  
For the next twenty minutes, Mort would regret that answer more than anything. Unfortunately, Lucy had a thing for one hit wonders of the eighties, and by the time Soft Cell's Tainted Love (I love that song!)came on, Mort had had enough.  
  
**Good god, please make it stop!**   
  
_It's her car, I can't just turn off the radio!  
_  
**Distracted her! Ask her questions so she has to turn off the bloody thing to talk to you.**  
  
"So what happened to your boyfriend?" he asked the first thing that came to mind.  
  
"Oh, you know." Lucy started to say, leaning over to turn off the radio.  
  
**Success.**  
  
"Things just didn't work out. I came home one day and he was sitting on the couch with that look on his face that just tells you something's wrong. So he went on for about an hour about how he didn't think we should see eachother anymore and blah blah blah. Then he gave me the old line of 'it's not you, it's me.' Which turned out to be true because it _was_ him who was fucking some cheap slut on the side. Go figure eh?" she asked with a look of shock on her face.  
  
"Wow." Mort was speechless.  
  
**Hits a wee bit close to home.**  
  
_No kidding._  
  
"Well......that sucks." Mort supplied. He didn't want to say he was sorry. He always hated when people said that to him.  
  
"Yeah, but hey, it happens." she shrugged nonchantly.  
  
There was a few minutes of silence and Mort was just about to ask her something else when all of a sudden she grunted in annoyance and swerved through two lanes, giving Mort what he was sure a heart attack, before finally pulling onto the shoulder of the highway. She turned off the engine and started rubbing her eyes vigorously.  
  
"What's wrong with you!" Mort asked, more alarmed then ever.  
  
"Uggghhh, contacts." she explained, pointing to her eyes to show Mort they were turning slightly red. "My eyes are killing me. You got the glasses, I got the contact lenses, what a miserable product that is! Oh yeah, put the glass in your eye, it won't hurt. Asshole optometrist, pawn these off on me. He wears glasses, that prick!" Lucy was really starting to vent now, and Mort thought it would be best not to interrupt her.   
  
"Have you ever worn contact lenses?" again Mort shook his head no. "Oh they stink. You'll be talking to someone and all of a sudden one starts moving around in your eye, what a horrible moment that is! 'Great I got a lazy eye. I'm a freak, I can see nine people at the same time!' Oh man they're terrible." Lucy looked over to see Mort looked a little frightened of her. "Sorry, I tend to just ramble on like that sometimes. You'll learn to ignore me." She reassured him.   
  
"Right." Mort nodded along.  
  
"So, how about some lunch?" Lucy asked, trying to get his mind off her little outburst.  
  
"Okay." Mort agreed, partly wanting to be around other people for a little while in case she went off again.  
  
"Good, I know a great little joint about thirty miles away." and with that, she turned back onto the freeway.  
  
After a few minutes she leaned over and turned the radio back on. To Mort's horror, she proceeded to sing along to Hit Em With Your Best Shot. (another great song, not sure who sings it at the moment though) He prayed they would get to this place and quick.  
  
**God speed man, god speed.**  
  
**A/N:** That whole thing about the contact lenses is a joke from my favorite stand up comedian, Jeremy Hotz. He is so freakin hilarious. He does his whole act in this voice that sounds like he trying desperately hard not to laugh. Oh man he kills me. And yes, I am a one hit wonder of the 80's freak. Anyways....read and review please. 


	5. Taxi's & Tacky Mermaids

Luckily, for the sake of Mort's sanity, they arrived at the little diner that Lucy mentions pretty quickly. Very unluckily, however, they found the place to be closed. Not only closed, but completely tore down and they now found themselves staring at an empty lot.  
  
'I don't understand, it was here three years ago." Lucy mused to herself. Once again, Mort just stared at her.  
  
**Her elevator doesn't exactly reach the top floor, does it?**  
  
_It doesn't appear to._  
  
"Well then, I suppose sausage and eggs are out of the question then." Lucy stated, then turned to Mort. "How do you feel about hamburgers? I know a place about two miles down the road that I am positive is still open."  
  
"Are you sure it's still open?" Mort asked, doubting her just a little, and rightfully so.  
  
"Cross my heart and hope to die." Lucy said, another one of her trademark smiles in place.  
  
**Do we trust her?**  
  
_We're gonna have to, I'm getting hungry._  
  
Mort sighed. "Alright."  
  
"Splendid." Lucy reversed the car out of the lot, and headed down the street. "You're in for quite a treat, let me tell ya. This place has the best hamburgers you have, or ever will taste. Every bite is a little piece of heaven. Oh, you're not a vegetarian or vegan or anything like that, or you?" Lucy asked, with a hint of worry in her voice.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh good."   
  
Within a few minutes they pulled into a parking lot with a yellow taxi cab parked out front. Mort looked up to read the name of the place.  
  
_Taxi's , I guess that would explain the taxi cab._  
  
**You're good at this, ever think of becoming a detective?**  
  
_Bite me._  
  
The two got out of the car and walked in. Mort was greeted with a smell that was truly out of this world. It literally made his mouth water. If the food tasted halfway as good as it smelled, well let's just say Mort seriously wanted a doggy bag. After giving his order to Lucy, he went and sat down in a booth. Once he got comfortable, he looked over to see a small table top jute box. After browsing through the songs, he took out two quarters and selected J4, which just so happened to be The Lion Sleeps Tonight (so sorry, I can't think of who sings that song at the moment) The song started and Mort just couldn't help but hum along. It was, afterall, one of his favorite songs.  
  
"Oh, nice choice." Lucy exclaimed, as she took a seat on the other side of the booth.  
  
Mort looked up, a little embarrassed that she caught him singing........ well, almost. "Yeah. I'm surprise you think so after listening to that eighties crap all morning." Mort joked with her adding that ever so lovely smirk as well.  
  
"Hey now, I'll have you know that the eighties is one of the best decades of music there is." Lucy defended.  
  
"No no no." Mort insisted with a shake of the head.  
  
"Okay then all fountain of knowledge, what would you say is the best decade of music?" she challenged, with a quirked eyebrow.  
  
"The sixties, hands down."   
  
Lucy pursed her lips and appeared to be thinking about this for a moment, then sighed reluctantly. "Alright, I'll agree with you on that. The sixties did rock." she looked over to see Mort with a triumphed smile on his face, and couldn't help but roll her eyes. Damn how she hated losing.  
  
Before Mort had the opportunity to boast about his victory, the waitress came up to the table with their food. The taxi melt went to Lucy, and the mushroom burger went to Mort. The both said their thanks you as the waitress walked off. They prepared their burger and fries with the necessary condiments, then each took a bite.  
  
"Oh my god!" Lucy practically squealed. "Talk about mental orgasm. So, what do you think?"   
  
"Wow." Mort had the most content look on his face. He had to admit, that was the best damn burger he had ever tasted.  
  
"Ha, told you."  
  
They continued eating their lunch, asking little questions throughout. By the time they were done, they were completely stuffed to the point that if you had stuck a needle in either one, they surely would have popped. But of course, that didn't stop either of them from picking up a doggy bag for the road.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Night fell and around nine p.m they finally found the first hotel they would staying at during this road trip. _'The Silver Mermaid'_, where thirty dollars a night bought you a two person room complete with two beds, a t.v, with cable, a very lovely view of the motel swimming pool, and the best thing of all, a complimentary chocolate on your pillow. Agreeing that this was a good enough place, Lucy paid for the room, took the keys, and motioned for Mort to grab the bad and follow her to the room.  
  
The room was, uniquely decorated to say the least. The floor was covered in an turquoise colored fluffy carpet, the wallpaper consisted of a underwater theme that included half naked mermaids all over, (hence the name of the place) and the beds were made up of different shades of blues and swirly, watery type patterns. In short, it looked like an underwater sex room. Which would explain the bemused looks on Mort's and Lucy's faces.  
  
"Wow." it was Mort who was the first to speak. "This place is......... tacky."  
  
"Yeah." Lucy couldn't help it anymore, she burst out laughing and had to lean against the doorway for support. Now long after Mort joined in on the little laugh fest. After their giggles had settled down, Lucy looked over the bed and almost started laughing again at what she saw.

"Oh my god! They're vibrating beds!"  
  
"You know, it's amazing they don't charge more for these rooms." Mort mused sarcastically.   
  
"Well what do say, how bout a ride?" Lucy asked him excitedly. "Whoever can stay on their bed the longest wins."  
  
**She's asking you to get on a vibrating bed, now remember what I told you about being nice.**  
  
Ignoring the voice in his head, Mort decided this could be an interesting little game. "And what does the winner get?"  
  
"Hmmmmm....... oh, I got it! Now, judging by this place, I would say there is only enough hot water for one shower, so, winner gets the first shower. How bout it, are you game?" Lucy asked challenging.  
  
Mort thought this over, and decided that a nice hot shower sounded pretty damn good, so, returning the challenging look to Lucy, he stuck out his hand and shook hers. "You're on."  
  
"Ha, you're going down buddy." Lucy took out a couple of quarters, two for her and two for him, and handed him his. They both got on their own beds and got into position. (is it just me, or is this starting to sound a bit pornish? if it is, don't blame me, I was watching Boogie Nights yesterday)  
  
"Ready?" Lucy asked.  
  
"Ready."  
  
"Okay, on the count of three. One........two.........three."  
  
**A/N:** And there it is, chapter 5. What's gonna happen? Who will win the big vibrating bed match? You'll just have to wait and see! Ha. Deal with that my little dears.............. sorry, I'm bored. Anyways........... just so you all know, _Taxi's i_s a real hamburger place, and they have the best food. It's like biting into a greasy sanctuary. Eating there reminds me how thankful I am for not being a vegetarian, but kudos to anyone who is. So, one last question and then I'll be done, I promise. What do you guys think of these 2 hooking? I wasn't going to at first, but now I'm starting to feel the itch to do so. They wouldn't become a couple or anything, and it wouldn't be in the next chapter, just a little, casual sex in one of the last chapters. Well, let me know what you think and there will be chocolate and vanilla covered Mort cookies for all.


	6. Bad Memories & Cold Showers

**A/N:** Hello all. Just so you know, for this chapter everything in bold is Lucy's inner voice, and everything in italics are Lucy's thoughts.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Well, I suppose it would be quite interesting to find out exactly what happened during the little bed riding tournament, but it would be kind of pointless. Why bother with useless information. No, all you really need to know, is it has been twenty minutes since the match and Lucy is sitting on her bed with a not so pretty pout on her face. So, put two and two together and you'll have the results.  
  
Yes, Lucy loss, for the second time that day. First the battle of music, now the battle of ...........vibrating beds. In short, she was beginning to regret her decision to take on the roll of Mort Rainey's personal driver.  
  
**Speaking of which, what on earth were you thinking when you came to that decision?! Really, I thought I taught you better than that.   
**  
_I couldn't help it, I was in a good mood._  
  
**Which is another thing I don't understand and I share the same mind as you. You won five dollars on a lottery ticket that you spent two dollars to buy! What could possibly be so thrilling about that?**  
  
_I'm not use to winning, okay._  
  
**Still, this man could be an axe murderer, killer rapist, raving loon for all you know!**  
  
_I know that! But there was something about the look on his face that was just screaming for help. And besides, he has a daughter to see and I couldn't refuse help for that!  
_  
**You didn't even know he had a daughter until six hours ago! All you knew was he was trying to steal your car! 'Hmmm, this man I don't know is trying to steal my car, I think I'll give him a lift to Virginia because I just won five dollars, which actually turns out to be three if you want to be technical, and I feel like a great big ball of fucking sunshine!' yeah, you're a real genius sweetheart.**  
  
_Hey, aren't you suppose to be on my side?_  
  
**Not when you're being this stupid.**  
  
_Well he hasn't killed me yet has he?_  
  
**You're hopeless, you know that.  
**  
_Bite me._  
  
Lucy was ready to go on in this little debate between her and her inner voice, but Mort decided he was done with his long, hot shower and came out of the bathroom, with a wall of steam following him, almost as if it was taunting Lucy. Lucy looked at him with a look of total hatred that he returned with a very smug smile.  
  
"All yours."  
  
"You suck." Lucy told him, with venom dripping in her voice. She decided to go in now before she tackled him and physically removed that smile off his face. Lucy got in the bathroom and shut and locked the door.   
  
**Hmmmm.**  
  
_What now?_  
  
**He doesn't look half bad when he's all wet like that.**  
  
_My god woman._  
  
Trying her best to ignore her voice for the time being, she started undressing and set her cloths in a pile on the sink. She turned the water on in hopes it would warm up some. While she was waiting she took a long look in the mirror and studied her reflexion, and she barely recognized the person staring back at her. Yes, she might put on this chipper, happy go lucky, the world is a beautiful place facade around people, but in all truth, she was anything but.  
  
In all actuality, Lucy was a lot more messed up than anyone could ever guess. The breakup with her former boyfriend really screwed with her head. It wasn't just your everyday relationship, no, it was the real deal. They had been high school sweethearts and had been dating for seven years, and Tyler had finally popped the question on their seventh anniversary. Now Lucy had never been the type who really wanted a wedding. Well, it wasn't that she didn't want one, she just didn't need one. All she wanted was to spend the rest of her life with the guy of her dreams, but when he proposed, she couldn't say no. She had never been more happier. Her life was perfect as far as she was concerned......... but then she found him fooling around with her sister. As if that wasn't bad enough, when she confronted him about it, he somehow twisted everything around and ended up blaming it on her for never being there for him, and just not being the same girl he used to love.  
  
That was five months ago. Shortly after that, her mother lost her battle with breast cancer. Her mother was her best friend and it just killed her when it happened. Then a few weeks later her father had cut off all ties with her because he said that she just reminded him too much of his late wife, and it hurt too much to be around her. So all in all, it had been a rotten couple of months. That's when she moved out to a small town in New York, for she was originally from New Jersey. The second night in her new apartment, she had gotten a little bit to drunk, and gotten a little bit carried away with a razor blade.  
  
At this thought, she took off the strings and strings of beads she wore around her right wrists that came to about her mid forearm. Half of her arm was covered in scares. Some long, some short, some dark and some light, depending on how deep she had cut. She had never meant to mutilate herself like that, but she was drunk off her ass and just wanted something to take away the pain. Unfortunately, after all was said and done, all she had to show for it was an arm covered in slashes and the thought that she almost killed herself. The pain was still there, and she was starting to think it would never go away.  
  
Lucy tore her eyes away from her arm and shook her head violently, trying to clear her head. She then stepped into the shower and just as she had expected, it was cold.  
  
**A/N:** Whoa! We went from having a good time to the queen of doom. Pity. Anyways.........I know it's a little short, but I just wanted a chapter that kinda explains Lucy a little more and why she's the way she is, and why she decided to help Mort. In case you didn't catch it, it's because she's so lonely and just wants some kind of human contact. Now, on a brighter note....I still don't know what to do with the whole casual sex thing. Cuz it seems like it could work, but a review I got pointed out to me that Mort and Lucy do seem more like the brother/sister type pair. I don't know, I've got time to think about it I suppose. But if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to send them in. Ta. 


	7. No More Secrets

**A/N:** Hello everybody. I just need to give a big thank you to **Missz-Sparrow** for pointing out the huge mistake that made. See, in the third chapter I had Lucy talking to her mom, and then in the last chapter I said that Lucy's mom was dead, so that doesn't exactly work out. So sorry about that, I have a problem of getting an idea in my head and then not taking the time to check and make sure it works with everything else that I've written. But don't worry, I gonna make it so it all works in this chapter. Oh and one more thing, I'm gonna fast forward a few days in this chapter.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
It was day four on the little trip and they were about half way to their destination. They could have been closer, but between pit stops and Lucy's old lady style driving, they weren't exactly making the best of time. Mort didn't mind though. He quite enjoyed spending time with the girl. He loved her out look on life. Though he noticed that she didn't seem quite the same since the first night in the hotel. And he didn't mentioned to her that he happened to see a few scars on her wrist yesterday. Obviously she was carrying some heavy baggage from her past, and who was he to judge on something like that.  
  
**But be honest, you know you're curious.**  
  
_Guilty as charged.  
_  
**So why don't you ask her about it.  
**  
_If she wanted me to know she would have told me.  
_  
**I hate to break it to you buddy, but not everyone just comes right out and spills their guts to the first person who will listen.**  
  
_Still, it would be an invasion of privacy._  
  
**Suit yourself.   
**  
"Lunch?" Lucy seemed to ask out of nowhere.  
  
"Huh?" Mort asked a little out of it.  
  
"Lunch, I was wondering if you were ready for lunch yet."  
  
"Oh..um, yeah, sure."  
  
"Ok."  
  
They eventually found a little deli after a short hunt and decided to eat at the park near by. They settled at a bench sitting under a big oak tree that was perfectly shaded from the summer sun. The place was very peaceful, with the occasional squirrel running by. As they were eating, Mort couldn't help but notice the curiosity to know about Lucy's past was growing stronger and stronger. So after much debate, he decided to try and get it out of her.  
  
"You know, we've been in a car together for four days now and except for a couple of little things, I hardly know anything about you." Mort began, subtly trying to get the information he wanted. "So what do you say to a game of twenty questions?"  
  
She didn't show it, but Lucy was quite scared to play such a simple game. She had a feeling that he would ask about everything she was trying to hide. But then again, she couldn't help but think that it might be good to get it off her chest. So, with her mind made up, she decided to go for it. "Alright then, you first."  
  
After about forty five minutes or so they were both on their last question. They had already gone through the basics, such as where eachother were from, what their childhood was like, blah blah blah. They were really quite enjoying telling someone about their past, neither having really talk to anyone in a while. But now it was down to the big stuff, the stuff they were dreading. And they each knew exactly what they were going to ask.  
  
"Okay, question number twenty." Lucy got serious. "I noticed there was a ring on your wedding finger, but you haven't mentioned anything of a wife, are you still married?"  
  
"Uhhhhh." yup, this was the big one Mort was trying to stay clear of. How was he going to explain this one. "About a year and a half ago, I caught my wife cheating on me. I was completely heart broken. I didn't even know we were having any problems, I thought everything was going good, you know?" at this Lucy nodded, knowing exactly was he meant. " So basically I went into isolation. I moved into my cabin up in Maine and just drowned myself in my own misery. About six months after that, my wife, or ex-wife, Amy, calls and wants me to sign divorce papers. I was reluctant because I didn't want it to be officially over, I still loved her and I thought maybe if I didn't sign the papers, it wouldn't be true. But she kept insisting so finally I had to cave in. She was suppose to come by one night, but she never showed up. A few days later, I find out her and her lover have turned up missing. I haven't heard from her since." Mort finished with a distant look on his face.  
  
**Well now, that was an Oscar worthy performance. But aren't you forgetting something?**  
  
_She doesn't need to know everything.  
_  
"Wow, that's......." Lucy was at a loss for words. "Really something. I don't what I would do if I was in your position. I'm sorry I brought it up." Lucy felt really awful now, she could tell it pained him  
  
"No, don't worry about it, it feels good to talk to someone about it." They both sat in silence for a few moments, and then Mort decided it was now or never that he asked his big question. "Alright, question number twenty for me. How'd you get the scars on your wrist?" he asked, pointing to her right wrist.  
  
Lucy was stunned to say the least. She was sure he didn't know about those. "Ho...how do know about those?"  
  
"Your sleeve rolled up yesterday while you were driving."  
  
"Oh." Lucy let out a big breath of air and decided if he aired his dirty laundry, it was only fair she did the same. So she told him everything. From her cheating boyfriend, to her mother's death, her father's abandonment, her drunken night, everything. When she was done, she too felt a big relief. She had forgotten how good it felt to talk to someone.  
  
"Geez, and I thought I was fucked up." Mort blurted out before he could stop himself. "Oh...shit I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." he started babbling his apology.  
  
Lucy couldn't help but laugh. "No, it's alright. It's true, I've come to accept that."  
  
Mort thought about something for a minute, and when things didn't add up, he decided to ask her about it. "Just one question, you said your mom died, but when we were at your apartment, you were talking to your mom, how?  
  
"Oh. Well that wasn't my real mom. That was a friend of my mother's you see. When I was growing up she was always around and she would always baby-sit me and she became like a second mother to me, so I've been referring to her as 'mom' for years now."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well then, now that we have no more secrets from eachother, what do you say we get back on the road?"  
  
"Sounds good to me." they both got up and threw away their trash. "Hey, do you want me to drive for a little bit."  
  
Lucy realized that she was pretty tired, so she decided that was a great idea and handed over the keys. They got in the car and no longer than ten minutes later, Lucy was out like a light.  
  
**A/N:** Mort's cabin was in Maine right? I know the house was in New York, but wasn't the cabin in Maine? Anyways.... please let me know what you think. 


	8. Returning Nightmares

**A/N:** In this chapter, part will be in Mort's POV, and part will be in just regular POV. Don't hate me for doing this all weird, I can't help it.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
**Mort's POV**  
  
It was around eleven p.m by the time I finally found a motel to stop at, and I was exhausted. I don't how Lucy does it all day. I guess that would explain why she's been passed out for the past ten hours. Apparently all the driving has been taking more of a toll on her then either of us realized. And judging by the bags under her eyes, I'm pretty sure she doesn't sleep much. It almost makes me feel guilty for bringing her into all this, but I couldn't help it. I have a daughter to get to and she _did_ offer.  
  
I decided it would be best to check in before I woke her up. So I headed into the little office, paid for the room, got the keys, then went back to the car to get the luggage and Lucy.  
  
**Regular POV  
**  
Mort opened the passenger side door and gently shook Lucy's shoulder.  
  
"Hey, time to get up." he whispered into her ear.  
  
Lucy stirred a bit, her eyelids fluttered open and she was met by those chocolate orbs she had come to know over the past few days. "Are we there yet?" she asked, still half asleep.  
  
"We're at the motel."  
  
"Ahh, got ya." she lazily drawled, and with that, Lucy hoped out of the car and allowed Mort to help her to the room so she didn't fall over from the sleep that was still with her.  
  
They found their room easily and went in. Lucy went straight to her bed and passed out again. You would never guess that she had slept so long in the car. Mort couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this. He went over and took off her shoes.   
  
Considering it was the middle of summer, it was an unusually chilly night. So he made sure to cover her up. He pulled the blankets up to her chin and before he knew what he was doing, he kissed her forehead. It was in a friendly sort of manner, but this action, however innocent, shocked even him. It was then that he realized that he had grown quite attached to the girl since they met. She was very comforting to be around. He smile slightly to himself at this thought, and then went and got himself ready for bed.  
  
**Mort's POV**  
  
They were back. Those horrid nightmares that had plagued his mind for months after the whole Shooter ordeal were back. And they were worse than ever.  
  
He found himself running, always running. Through cornfields that stretched for miles, and the more he ran, the more it seemed like he was going nowhere. But as much as his limbs hurt, and hard as it was getting to breathe, the more he wanted to just give up and keel over, he knew he couldn't. No, there was something after him.........._someone_ after him, that much he was certain of. But who, he could never figure out. He would always wake up before he found out who. But this time was different, this one seemed more real. And he would always wake up by now, but there were no signs of waking up this time.  
  
Suddenly, Mort tripped over something and went crashing to the ground. It took a few minutes to regain his composer, but when he did, he turned over to see what he had tripped over, and was completely mortified. As oppose to a twig or something like he had thought, it turned out that he had tripped over a hand.  
  
Mort let out a yelp and scrambled to his feet, but as soon as he was standing, he ran into something that felt familiarly like a body. Mort turned around only to let out another yelp of terror, because he was now standing in front of his dead, ex wife Amy.  
  
"Nnn.....no, you're dead!" Mort stammered out.  
  
"Well I thought that was pretty obvious Mr. Rainey." came that dreaded southern voice.  
  
_That couldn't possibly be who I think it is!_  
  
**Turn around buddy, time to face the music.  
**  
Mort slowly turned around to come face to face with his worst nightmare of all......Shooter.  
  
"Wha......what do you want?!" Mort all but squeaked.  
  
"I think you might want ta take another look at that young misses over there." Shooter pointed behind Mort's shoulder.  
  
Mort turned back around, and instead of seeing Amy, this time he seen a young girl that he had never seen in his life. But she looked so familiar. She look like.........like...........him! Was this......?  
  
"Maggie?"  
  
The girl looked up at him with a tear stained, terror stricken face and it seemed that recognition hit her too.   
  
"Daddy?"  
  
"She sure is a purty thing, ain't she?" Shooter asked.  
  
Mort whipped around with a newfound rage written on his features. "You stay away from her!" he roared.  
  
"Fraid I can't do that Mr. Rainey, you see, she's gonna get in the way of you and me, and I can't be allowing that." and with that, Shooter threw a hard punch and nailed Mort right in the jaw, knocking him down.  
  
Mort groaned and tried to get up, but when he did, he was just in time to see Shooter taking a shovel to his beautiful daughter's neck.  
  
**Regular POV  
**  
Lucy woke with a start to the most blood curling scream she had ever heard in her entire life. She quickly turned on the light on the bedside table to get her bearings and immediately found that Mort was thrashing about in his bed. She jumped out of bed so fast that she got tangled in her blankets and tripped. She got up as fast as she could and started the task of attempting to wake Mort.  
  
"Mort..............MORT!!" she shook him violently and just narrowly missed the fist coming her way when Mort sat bolt right up in bed.  
  
Mort was breathing heavily and sweat was pouring down his face. He looked like he had just gone through hell and back. He looked around frantically and finally rested his eyes on Lucy who was currently on the floor (again), which is where she went when she was trying to avoid the punch.  
  
"Where is she?!" Mort demanded.  
  
Lucy was, to say the least, quite confused by this sudden question. "Where's who?"  
  
"Maggie! Where's Maggie? He didn't get her did he?" Mort was pleading with Lucy now, almost on the verge of tears.  
  
Lucy didn't know what to do. She had absolutely no idea who he was talking about, and why he was under the impression that they had already met his daughter. "Mort, honey, we haven't gotten to Virginia yet, we're still at the motel in Maryland...........there's nobody here but us." Lucy told him soothingly.  
  
Mort looked like a lost puppy. And finally the tears came. His body started to lightly shake with sobs. Lucy had never been good with comforting people, but she did what felt right. She climbed next to him and laid his head down on her lap and started stroking his forehead, whispering to him that everything was alright. He eventually fell asleep in her arms, while Lucy stayed up the remainder of the night watching over him.  
  
**A/N:** Once again, sorry for the changing of writing style, it was the only way I could write it the way I wanted. And I have finally come to the conclusion that there will be no games between the sheets in this story, sorry. 


	9. More of The Truth

It was morning and the sun had just risen up, sending rays of light through the window and creating a gentle glow around the two bodies on the bed. Mort and Lucy were still in the same position as they were just hours before, and Lucy was still half awake when she felt Mort start to move. She quickly became more alert, still very worried about his little outburst.  
  
Mort looked up to see Lucy staring at him with concern evident in her eyes. He shifted his gaze, not exactly ready to answer the questions he was sure she had, and slowly sat up. He rubbed his eyes a little and then got off the bed completely, making his way to the bathroom. Lucy let him do what he wanted, knowing better than to start interrogating him. She waited patiently on the bed for his return, all the while listening to the silence of the room.  
  
After what seemed an eternity, Mort finally emerged from the bathroom and came over and sat by her again. They were both staring off into nothingness, very vacant looks on both their faces. Without even exchanging words, they both came to an agreement. There would be no talking, not now anyways.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
A little while later and they were once again back on the road. They were now only about three hours from place that held Mort's daughter. But despite that happy bit of news, there was a very sulky kind of atmosphere in the car at the moment. Mort and Lucy hadn't really talked since they woke up this morning, except maybe a word or two here and there. And quite frankly it was starting to get on Lucy's nerves. They were both mature adults, weren't they? So why couldn't they just act like it. One of the many unanswered mysteries of life she decided on.  
  
"We should be there soon." Lucy mentioned, trying to get something out of him.  
  
"Mmmhmmm."  
  
"That's it!" and with that Lucy let out a very aggravated sigh and swerved off the side of the road, much like she did their first day together.  
  
Before Mort had time to think of what she could possibly be doing, she took the keys out of the ignition, threw them on the dashboard, and got out of the car. She started pacing back and forth and appeared to be mumbling something to herself. Then she walked ahead of the car about ten feet, let out a bit of a yell, came back, kicked the front tire, and finally ended the whole thing by leaning against the front of the car. In short, she looked like a mad woman.  
  
After a few moments, Mort finally got out of the car and went over to stand by Lucy.  
  
"Feel better?" he tried to make light of the situation, but failed miserably.  
  
"What happened back there?" Lucy asked immediately.  
  
Mort hesitated for a second, then answered. "Nothing, it was just a bad dream."  
  
"Bullshit. I've had my fair shares of bad dreams and that was beyond a bad dream." at this she turned and looked him in the eyes. "What happened?"  
  
Mort sighed. He had to tell her. "You know when I told you my ex wife went missing?" Lucy nodded. "Well that was a lie, she never went missing. She was murdered, her and her lover."  
  
"Murdered?" Lucy asked, stunned.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Di....did they ever find the killer?"  
  
"Yeah. A guy named John Shooter from Mississippi. He accused me of plagiarism and when I wouldn't do what he wanted, he took everything that meant anything to me."

**Forgetting a little something again are we?**

_Back off.  
_  
"God." Lucy breathed. "I sure know how to ruin a day."  
  
"No, it's okay."  
  
"So......that's what the dream was about then, this Shooter guy?"  
  
"Yeah, I dreamt he was killing my daughter."  
  
Lucy, desperately wanting to get away from the glooming mood she had created, decided to put on a happy face. "Well, we're almost there, can't stop now. So, ready to get going?"  
  
Mort gave a little smile at the thought of finally meeting his girl. "You bet."  
  
**A/N:** Short, I know. But I didn't think it would fit if I added anymore.


	10. I Suggest, You Brace Yourself

**A/N:** Okay folks, we're almost done here. Should only be a couple of more chapters left, no more than 3 unless I come up with something else. Now I have a tad bit of a twist at the end here but I'm gonna warn you, I've just realized twists are not that easy to write, so if it's bad, keep the complaints to a minimum. Oh and real quick, thanks so much to all you lovely reviewers, you're like family!

(Stuff in bold is Mort's inner voice, and stuff in italics is Mort's voice.)  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
_'Welcome To Alexandria'   
_  
They had finally arrived. Alexandria, Virginia, home to Morton Rainey's daughter. In a few minutes they would be arriving at her house, and he would be meeting her for the first time. But what was he going to do? What was he going to say? It's not exactly like he had much in common with a fifthteen year old. But that's okay, he would have plenty of time to deal with that later.  
  
**Are you sure about that?**  
  
_Yes.  
_  
**Positive?  
**  
_Yes! Why are you acting like that?_  
  
**I'm just saying, what if you _don't_ have time to deal with that later?**  
  
_Why wouldn't I have time to deal with it later?_  
  
**Oh I don't know.......... let's say, hypothetically of course, she's not there?**  
  
_Why wouldn't she be there?_  
  
**I'm just saying, hypothetically.**  
  
_She's there! She's there and that's all there is to it. There's no hypotheticallies (is that even a word?), no what ifs, it just is! End of story.  
_  
**All right.  
**  
Mort was more confused now then ever. Why was his mind against him all of a sudden? Almost acting as if it knew something that Mort didn't. No, it was just his imagination, he was sure of it. What could his mind know that he didn't anyways? It was, after all, his mind. How could his own mind know something he didn't? It couldn't.  
  
"Well, here we are." Lucy announced cheerfully.  
  
Mort glanced out the window to find that they were in fact there. The house was of medium size. Not too big, not too small, but just that right size, in a _'Goldie Locks and the Three Bears'_ sort of way. It was a white house with forest green shutters, and a long walkway leading up to the door that was lined with flowers. It reminded Mort of an entrance to a garden or something of the like. Now that they were here, all he had to do was work up the nerve to actually walk that walkway to the front door.  
  
Lucy cleared her throat a bit to get Mort's attention. "Um, are you going?"  
  
"Uh..... yeah, yeah I'm going." he nervously nodded his head.   
  
Lucy watched as he made no attempts to move. She knew he was nervous, and understandably so, but he would have to go sooner or later. "Listen, Mort, I know you're scared, and that's perfectly understandable, but you got a little girl in there who's been waiting to see her daddy, you're not gonna keep her waiting are you?" she told him gently, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.  
  
"You're right. I just got to bear down and go for it. Yeah, okay I'm going.........now." Mort gave a final nod and finally opened the door.  
  
"Go get em tiger!" Lucy gave him two thumbs up that he returned with a nervous smile, then made a gesture as if she were praying for him when he turned his back.  
  
Mort was walking rather slowly up the walkway, he was sure that that snail he seen when he got out of the car had just fast him. Miserable snails, he didn't trust them. Always carrying their house on their backs. 'Oh nothing can happen to me, I've got my house on my back.' Miserable creatures.   
  
Mort was so deep in his thoughts about his dislike for snails that he didn't realize he had reached the door until he bumped into it. He looked at it like it was some kind of evil creature. But it wasn't. Just a simple piece of wood, the only thing now separating him and his daughter. All he had to do, was knock.  
  
**Alright partner. Time for the big showdown. I suggest...........you brace yourself.**  
  
Mort raised his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, he gave a strong knock. It didn't seem like anyone was coming, so he prepared to knock again. But before he got the chance, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. After a few more seconds, the door opened to reveal a teenage girl that was almost the spiting image of him. Same dark brown eyes, same brownish/blondish hair, same face structure, everything. It was looking in a mirror..............that is, if he was a teenage girl.  
  
Mort was speechless. This girl, _his_ girl, _his_ baby girl, was absolutely beautiful. Like an angel. What he had done to deserve her was far beyond him.  
  
"Hhh......hi." He was finally able to choke out.  
  
"Uh..... hi." she said a bit oddly. But then something happened. It appeared as if recognition had hit her, and all of a sudden her eyes grew wide. "Dad?!" she asked, barely above a whisper.  
  
Wow. Hearing her call him that took his breath away. "Yeah, it's daddy....................hi sweetheart."  
  
That was all Maggie needed to hear. Her arms were instantly around his neck, holding on for dear life, as if he would disappear if she let go. That's it, Mort Rainey was in love.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
When Mort finally got out of the car, Lucy took the opportunity to get a better look at the place. It seemed like a nice house, and it seemed like a nice neighborhood. She came to the conclusion that Maggie and her mother had some money. Either that or her mother had married rich. Whichever the reason, they were doing good. Lucy was taking in the structure of the house when she suddenly frowned.  
  
"Hmmmm." There didn't seem to be any lights on in the house. "Maybe they're the type that go to extreme lengths to conserve energy." she mused to herself. But then she noticed that there were no cars in the driveway. "Oh no, Mort's gonna have a heart attack if he has to wait any longer." she thought aloud to herself. But then she noticed something really odd, something that she couldn't believe neither of them had seen when they drove up, and without a doubt, something she didn't understand. There was a _'for sale'_ sigh on the front lawn. This just wasn't making any sense. "What the hell is going on?"   
  
Lucy was about to get out of the car to get Mort when she saw something truly unexplainable. At the moment, Mort Rainey was hugging something. The only thing is, that _'something'_, was nothing but thin air.  
  
**A/N:** Dun dun dun! (humor me please) Well there's my twist, enjoy it. Oh, and that bit about the snails, that's another part of the act that Jeremy Hotz does. Sorry, I couldn't resist adding it.


	11. What Do You Think Of Maggie?

**A/N:** Okay, before we get started here I have some news. Not important news, and it has nothing to do with the story, but it's big news nonetheless. So my mom was flipping through the channels yesterday and stopped on the Country Music Channel and called me in the room. So I went in there and was just tickled pink. There was this video on, _Girls Lie Too_ by Terri Clark, and it's about how girls lie and cheat just as much as guys do, and in the video the girl is having a fantasy about..................**Captain Jack Sparrow!** And I'm telling you, the guy looks so much like Johnny Depp. My mom still doesn't believe it's not him. And he has the quirks and mannerisms down almost perfectly. There's this one scene where they're flirting across the table, and he's trying to be all seductive with a chicken leg! Oh man, it's was the funniest thing. Anyways, that's my bit of news, now on to the story.

**A/N2:** Anything underlined is Lucy's inner voice, and anything in underlined italics are Lucy's thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------

**Lucy's POV**

To put it lightly, I was starting to freak out. Think about it, if you just found out the man you had been spending the past week with had a couple of screws loose, you'd feel the same way.

Well well well........I guess this means I was right.

_Now is really not the time to gloat._

Oh, but on the contrary my friend, it is. I told you not to trust this guy, I told you he would end up being some lunatic, but did you listen to me? No!

_Alright alright, you were right and I was wrong, happy?!_

Very much so.

I started sweating, I was so nervous. Just exactly what am I suppose to do? I can't very well go up to him and say _'Hi Mort, turns out you're a wee bit on the nutty side, see ya around.'_ . Not only would that be rude.......but what if he flips?! Yes, I'm definitely in a pickle now.

I started racking my brain for an idea, but kept coming up with a big fat goose egg. "Oh, this is bad." I whispered to myself. Just then I turned my head to see Mort walking down the pathway with the hugest smile I have ever seen plastered on his face, and his arm around.........air. I went wide eyed at this. "Oh my god! He probably wants to introduce me!"

Awww, isn't that precious.

_Shut up! What am I going to say, you have beautiful eyes?_

That's a start.

_Thanks, you're a big help._

Anytime kitten.

I couldn't help it, I started hyperventilating the closer Mort got to the car. "Oh man, this really bad." While I tried to control my breathing, I suddenly remembered something I heard once about delusional people, something about playing along or else the could become violent. Considering the fact that I can't throw a decent punch to save my life, I figured I'd better go along with this whole thing. "Okay, time to put those acting skills to use." And with that, I stepped out of the car just as Mort reached it.

"Lucy, I want you to meet Maggie." Mort said gleefully, pointing to his _'daughter'_ . "Maggie, this is Lucy, the lady I was just telling you about, the one who helped me get to you."

**Mort's POV**

I couldn't believe it. We had only spent a couple of minutes together and already we were bonding like we had been together forever. This was without doubt, the best day of my life. And I wanted to share it with Lucy. She was, afterall, the one who helped me get here.

"Maggie, I want you to meet someone."

"Okay."

We started walking back to the car. I noticed Lucy didn't look so good, but I figured it was just the breakfast we had this morning. But it couldn't have been that bad because she got out as soon as we reached the car.

"Lucy, I want you to meet Maggie." I started. ""Maggie, this is Lucy, the lady I was just telling you about, the one who helped me get to you." Lucy looked a little loss for words for a second, but then regained herself.

"Uhhh, hhh...hi Maggie."

"Hi. It's great to meet you. Thank you so much for getting my dad to me, I can't thank you enough." Maggie gushed, and gave Lucy a big hug. God I love this girl. "Hey, why don't you guys come in. Mom's not home right now and you two look hungry." Maggie suggested. And come to think about it, I was a little hungry, I always get like that when I get good news.

"Alright." I said. I saw that Lucy wasn't moving. Apparently she was a little nervous about going into the house of someone she didn't know. "Come on Lucy, it's alright." I reassured her.

**Lucy's POV**

I was a little loss for words at first, but then kicked it into to gear. "Uhhh, hhh...hi Maggie." I said nervously.

Everything was silent and I had no idea what was happening. But then Mort suddenly turned towards his _'daughter'_ as if she was talking to him. "Alright." he said. He started to walk away a bit but then turned towards me again. "Come on Lucy, it's alright." he told me in a soothing voice.

I had no idea what was supposeling going on, but I had to go with the flow, so I followed him. I noticed Mort go for the handle and realized what was happening.

That's so sweet, she's invited you in.

_Oh no! This isn't sweet, this is breaking and entering!_

I had no choice but to follow him in. Hopefully nobody in the neighborhood would notice. Once we got inside I seen a whole lot of..........nothing.

**Mort's POV**

We entered the house and I have to say, it was a lot bigger on the inside then it was on the outside. It was lavishly (is that the word?) decorated as well. I was happy to know that Maggie was brought up well. And it seems Lucy was just as impressed as I was, because she just stood there in awe.

"I'm gonna go make some sandwiches." Maggie said as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Okay honey." I turned towards Lucy once Maggie was gone. "So, what do you think?"

**Lucy's POV**

"So, what do you think?" Mort asked me.

"It's um...........something."

"No, I mean Maggie. What do you think of Maggie?"

"Oh, well she's............" I didn't know what to say.

Okay, as much humor as I'm getting out of this, you really should tell him.

_Tell him what?_

Oh I don't know, that there is no Maggie and that he's crazy.

_And what if he gets violent?_

Oh I'm sure you'll be able to think of something.

"Well?" Mort urged me to answer.

"Uh........." alright, it's now or never. "Mort, now don't get mad."

"Mad, why would I get mad?" he asked with a incredulous look on his face.

"Ummm, well about Maggie, there ummm............. there isn't exactly..............there is no................Mort, I don't know what your mind is doing to you, but there is no......Maggie." I said with a wince. And that's when Mort's face completely dropped. Uh oh.

**A/N:** Sorry about the weird pov switching again. Oh, and I know a house up for sale wouldn't leave the door unlocked, but they had to get in some how, so just use your imaginations.


	12. The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing ...

**A/N:** We're back to where everything in bold is Mort's inner voice and everything in italics are Mort's thoughts.  
  
Mort was speechless, utterly speechless. He just couldn't believe his ears. Why on earth was Lucy trying to tell him he didn't have a daughter? Of course he had a daughter, he saw her himself. Touched her when he hugged her, he was just talking to her for christ sake!  
  
**Are you sure about that?**  
  
_Yes!_  
  
**Mmmmhmmmm............. just like you were sure Shooter was real?**

_What are you talking about?_  
  
**Think about it! You're up in that cabin of yours, all alone, no friends, no family, no loved ones, the whole town is against you, and you just can't take it anymore. You start thinking about how screwed up your life has gotten, and about the way things were, and the way things could have been. That's when you remember Amy's miscarriage. Oh, you were so excited about having that baby weren't you? Thrilled beyond belief. But it never happened, and the thought of never having a darling little boy or girl that you could raise and that would love you and look up to you, and stand by your side no matter what was too much to bare, so you _made_ it happened. Just like the thought of Amy with another man was too much to bare, so you made their _'disappearance'_ happen.**  
  
_No.............no, Maggie is real! I know she is!_  
  
**I'm Afraid not buddy.**  
  
Suddenly Mort was hit with a whirlpool of flashbacks of him writing out a letter from Maggie, making a fake birth certificate, mailing everything to himself, and everything in between. It all hit him like a ton of bricks, and he felt his knees buckle from under him, sending him down to the floor.  
  
"Oh god." he whispered to himself.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Lucy, who had been watching him as he appeared to be having a fierce argument with himself a few moments ago, was really starting to panic. He looked like he was fighting some kind of demon in his head, and apparently lost because he all of a sudden dropped to the floor. Not knowing exactly what was wrong, she immediately dropped down beside him.  
  
"Mort, Mort what's wrong? Are you okay?"  
  
"She's not real, she's not real, she's not real.............." he kept repeating over and over again. He was rocking back and forth now, and Lucy could see pools of tears running down his face. It was the most heart breaking thing she had ever seen in her entire life. She wished to whoever would listen that she could take his pain away, but she knew she couldn't. She knew she couldn't just leave him like this, and she had no intentions to. Obviously, Mort Rainey needed more help than anyone could ever imagine.  
  
She grabbed him around the shoulders and tried to calm him down, or atleast try to get his shaking under control. She understood that right now all he needed was for someone to hold him and tell him everything would be alright, so that's what she did. "Shhhh, it's okay. We're gonna get you some help, and I promise everything will be alright." she whispered to him while she stroked his hair out of his face, much like the way she did the previous night in the hotel. Mort had some deep psychological issues that he needed professional help with, and she was gonna make sure he got it, and she would be there every step of the way.  
  
**A/N:** It's short, I know, sorry. But it was all that really fit. Next chapter is the last!


	13. The Road Of Recovery

**A/N:** Please forgive me as I allow myself to rant and rave for moment. I officially hate my movie theater. I swear they never keep their movies running for more than 4 weeks or so, unless it's a bad movie, oh no, then they keep them for what seems like forever. And because of this little factor, I have been screwed out of seeing 3 movies that I had been dying to see. First Movie: Troy. My dad told me he would take me, but then forgot, then didn't have the money one week, and by the time we finally had set plans, they weren't showing it anymore, and the amount of time they kept it playing, 4 weeks! Second Movie: King Arthur. I finally got my dad to promise he would take me, so I went to get the playing time off line and they don't play it anymore, again, 4 weeks! So I suggested The Notebook instead, but of course they're not playing that one anymore either. I swear I'm gonna blow that place up one day. But on the bright side, we went to see Collateral, and it was good, a tad slow, but good. But still, I'm very mad. Anyways, that's all I have to say, so enjoy the end of the story.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
**Epilogue**  
  
_Six Years Later_  
  
Lucy drove up to the state hospital and parked in her usual _'visitor's parking'_ parking space. It was Tuesday, and Tuesdays' were her favorite. Today she would be able to take Mort outside to talk, instead of having to be cooped up in the room with a orderly observing them in the corner in case Mort had an _'outburst'_.  
  
Lucy let out a little growl of annoyance at this thought. Honestly, he had never shown any signs of violence, so why did they insist on watching him like a hawk? She couldn't really complain though, they were just doing their job afterall. She couldn't rightfully judge them on that.  
  
It had been six years since Mort had agreed to come get the help he needed, and it was doing wonders for him. He hadn't had visions of people who didn't exist, and he hadn't had any nightmares in almost two years. The doctor had told Lucy that if Mort continued to progress this way, he could possibly be considered for release within the year. This thought had sent butterflies to Lucy's stomach. Her and Mort had grown a very close friendship over the years since their road trip together, and they even had plans for Mort to move in with her when the day came that he could go home.  
  
Besides this, other aspects in Lucy's life had been going better as well. Mort taking the road to recovery to better his life made her realize that it was time to shape up things with her own life. She moved out of her crap apartment and got a new apartment in a better neighborhood and decorated it up so it wasn't so gloomy, like the last one. She even got a nice job doing something she loved, working at the local animal shelter. And now she had a Tabby cat that she named Chico, after a request from Mort.  
  
Yup, things were going good these days. She would come by every morning for a few hours before work to visit Mort, seeing as how she didn't start till the afternoon, and they would just sit and talk about anything and everything. Life was great for both parties.  
  
Lucy walked to the visiting room where she saw Mort sitting at the table waiting for her. He looked up when he heard footsteps and smiled when he saw her, which she returned.  
  
"Hey handsome." she greeted.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Ready for a walk?"  
  
"Sounds good." he answered, standing up.  
  
"Good."  
  
And so the two took their routine stroll through the courtyard, just enjoying eachother's company, just as they would for years to come.  
  
**A/N:** Well that's it. I was watching Slingblade a few days ago and that's where I got the idea for this chapter from. Well for the final time, thank you one and all for the reviews, I love you all like family. Ta-ta! 


End file.
